Missouri Megachurch to Plant Multimillion Dollar Sister Church in Florida

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A Missouri megachurch seeking to expand their ministry is near the halfway point in raising funds to pay for a new multimillion-dollar building in Florida and subsequent renovations.

Construction has already started on the Lakewood Ranch facility, which was once a warehouse. It is expected to be one of the largest churches in the area upon completion, according to the Herald Tribune.

The Faith Life Church purchased the $4 million building in October 2010, after founders Keith and Phyllis Moore felt directed by God to preach the Word in cities other than Branson, Mo.

“He admonished us to ‘Go where you’re sent, and stay where you’re stationed,’” the couple shared on the church’s website. That prompted them to plant a sister church in Sarasota, Fla., they said.

Just less than 10 acres, the new property is 82,000 square feet and is located in what they consider a “prime location.” They expect anywhere from 2,500 to 3,500 members to join the new church.

The county approved the church site and development plans in December, the Tribune reported. Water, sewer, landscaping, roads and parking were all included in the plan.

The Faith Life Church of Branson and Moore Life Ministries initially helped fund and start the project. In order to pay for the remaining balance of the building and renovations however, the Sarasota Paid N Full project was initiated.

When the 2,500 seats are paid for, the Paid N Full project will finance the completion of the church. At $2,000 per seat, the total cost is $5 million. So far, 1,207 seats have been purchased, with 1,293 seats still remaining.

“The Lord is so faithfully bringing the funds in just as they are needed. We’re confident that we’ll begin having services there in just a few months,” Keith Moore penned in a letter to the congregation.

The church stated that the project was 48 percent complete, and much work still needs to be done.

“When you sense that something is right to do, rearrange your schedule, believe for the money, do whatever it takes and don’t delay. Live today so that you’ll have no regrets tomorrow,” Moore said.

Having faith in God means trusting Him, Moore also wrote. “He is eternally faithful. We can rest completely on His unfailing Word...We’ll do His will and finish the work while we have time,” he said.

Construction began on the parking lot this summer. It will contain 600 spots, 300 of them new. After workers finish the parking lot, the platform and main walls of the building will also nearly be complete as well.

In addition to the new building, the church purchased a $2.2 million equestrian estate, intended to house church workers, in July.

A local church associate told the Tribune that social events and meetings would be held at the new 8,375-square-foot home in the future at the east Sarasota county estate.

With all the new changes and growth, the megachurch cannot help but feel “abundantly blessed.”

“Testimonies of God’s healing, provision and blessing are shared at every service,” the church’s website remarks. “Brother Moore’s desire for the body to learn to be led by the Spirit and grow in exceeding faith and abounding love. That is the vision of Faith Life Church.”

The ministry, which began in 2002, has grown tremendously over the past few years, in the United States and worldwide.

Friday and Sunday services are broadcast live on TV stations and networks across the world and thousands of people are able to hear the Word of God being preached.

“[The Moores’] heart is to see the lost saved, the sick healed, the distressed relieved, the broken restored and the discouraged empowered to victory,” the site said.

Moore noted, “True Christianity is not the formal, powerless thing that so many have come to know. Real fellowship with the living Christ, the Anointed One, results in the destruction of every bondage, the removal of every burden and the fulfillment of every good desire. There is no life so exciting as the victorious life that is true Christianity.”